Seeking wisdom on Jennings auger bit remakes....

[Chris Watson]

First good afternoon to all. I hope everyone is too busy with free time, in their shops, working on something to actually answer this


So I'll try and make this brief. I've just started to get into hand tool woodworking. And one of the first tools I'm hopefully picking up in the next few days is a nicely restored Yankee 2101 brace.

My question, out of ignorance and inexperience, is on a good set of auger bits for it. So after binge researching and reading for a few days I've come to realize that there are basically two overwhelmingly recommended ways to go. Irwin bits and Jennings bits. It seems Irwin's are regarded as better all around as well as more common. However Jennings bits are regarded as being better in hardwood. But, and here's the rub of course, only if you can find a set of the "101's". The more common 100's are everywhere. But the 101 series I have heard of only in hushed whisper and rumors


As I live in Kansas City Missouri, and have access to quite a bit of Osage orange, my very first project is to make, don't laugh, my joiners mallet.
I expect to be corrected but I don't know of a harder wood in North America to work with than OO. That being said, and the fact that 101 series Jennings bits seem to be very hard to find, I somehow stumbled across these guys in NY that appear to understand the difference between the threading on the Jennings 100 and 101 series. At least from their description. They seem to imply they took the threading from the 101 series and used it in their spec for their newly machined Jennings like bits.

Obviously I know next to nothing so I was hoping to seek out some thoughtful wisdom on these bits and see if they are, basically, a newly machined version of the Jennings bits with the 101 series threading? As well as if anyone has dealt with these folks before and had opinions of them?

The bits can be viewed here along with their description of them:
https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/stor...for_Braces

Thank you for taking the time to impart your wisdom and schooling me on this subject!

Chris

[Admiral]

The 101s are the coarse thread, similar to Irwin lead screws, the 100 are fine thread, better for hardwood use, but both work well. Hard to say which is best, really. New production is quite pricy, I'm sure Joel at TFWW has good stuff. He gets it, and in my book is a great supplier, I've always been more than satisfied with all of my purchases. 

[Chris Watson]

Hi admiral, thanks for taking the time to reply. Those bits are pricey but the 101 bits seem impossible to find used. The main concern for me was if the new bits were worth the money. As I know nothing of the seller. So it was good to hear from someone experienced in dealing with them. The bits at TFWW seem well designed from the pictures and the description especially for dealing with hardwood. Buying an entire new set might be a little rich for my blood but buying a bit or two here and there is certainly shaping up to be very attractive.

Thanks again for your input!

[cputnam]

When next they come up in S&S, look for stuff from Admiral (Rich), Enjuneer(Bob), Gregory of Sherwood Forest(Greg) and several others whom I forget at the moment. These guys know their vintage and accurately describe it for sale. Vintage Irwins come up quite often.

[kwadams]

Chris,

Joel at TFWW is absolutely first class. As was stated, he gets it and stands behind what he sells. You can buy a whole vintage set (often in mostly new condition) for less than buying comparable bits individually. That said, no one ever uses these whole sets, so I would just buy one or two from Joel and see how you like them.

Have fun!

Kevin

[Sierramtns]

I have a full set of both the Irwin and the Jennings bits. I don't know if the Jennings are coarse or fine thread. However I can say that I work exclusively in hardwoods (mostly cherry and walnut) and my preferred bits are the Irwin. They dig in and cut clean. I have had some problems with the Jennings stripping out the wood on some drillings. Don't know why.

[AHill]

I recommend posting a WTB in the Swap-N-Sell Forum.  Someone's bound to have a set they are willing to part with.  New ones are nice, but vintage ones can be sharpened easily enough with an auger bit file or even with a diamond paddle type hone.  As long as the lead screws are clean and relatively intact, I think you'll be able to find some vintage ones for a reasonable price. The bits sold by TFWW are on the pricey side, but they are harder to manufacture than Irwin style bits.

[DaveBeauchesne]

Chris:

You missed out on a complete set of Irwin Bits  ( from Admiral ) on the S & S in the past day or so.

I agree with putting out a wanted to buy request. The WoodNet gang is a good bunch of people.

Good luck;

Dave B

[cwarner]

Already did that, see my post a few up.  That seems to be the major contributor in the "I can't view images" problem people are having.

I have a full set of both the Irwin and the Jennings bits. I don't know if the Jennings are coarse or fine thread. However I can say that I work exclusively in hardwoods (mostly cherry and walnut) and my preferred bits are the Irwin. They dig in and cut clean. I have had some problems with the Jennings stripping out the wood on some drillings. Don't know why.

Agreed. I find my Irwin's bite better than my Jennings which have the fine threads. The lead screws tend to clog up with wood and loses ability to pull the auger through. I've tried sharpening the bits more, but still seem to have the same problem.

[lilrichard2]

Chris,

You need to turn on "Receive Messages." I have a set of RJ bits available.

Richard